'My dad says there's no money in comedy.' Ronald Warren is 11. He's already made $250

The St. Catharines boy has done 60 paid standup shows — performing alongside his dad Tommy, who has 400+ of his own.

Usually, when a teacher asks, “Are you a comedian,” trouble follows. For Ronald Warren, 11, it’s a badge of honour. The St. Catharines kid is actually a paid comedian.

Dubbed “Canada’s youngest comedian” by his dad, Tommy, who also does standup, Ronald loves taking the stage in front of doubters — and making them laugh. “Once they watch his set, they’re like, ‘He’s only 11?’” says Tommy. “That’s the No. 1 question me and his mother get asked.”

Like most working comics, Ronald says he gets his material from life experience. All 11 years of it. “A lot of my stories have actually happened to me and they were insanely funny,” he says.

“My dad says there’s no money to be made in comedy,” he said during a recent show at Taps in Niagara Falls. “Well, I guess I’m doing better than him, because I’ve already made $250.” Coming from a family with six other siblings, the younger Warren knew he had enough material to follow in his dad’s comedy footsteps.

Two years ago, when his dad was doing a show at Taps, the show MC, Levi Mann, prompted Ronald to go on stage and try out some material. “He destroyed my set!” recalls Tommy. The young comedian has since done about 60 shows.

His dad helps structure the set, but he comes up with his own material. “They’re all his ideas, his thoughts,” says Tommy. “My wife likes to say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

He’s a natural at it. “Most people would rather die than do any public speaking. When you’re a comic, your sole job is to make them laugh.

Ronald comes by it so naturally.” Despite his confidence, Ronald recalls being ”very nervous” before his first show. He used an old trick to get through it.

“I just pictured everybody wasn’t there other than my family. I was just presenting it to them.” He credits local comics Mann, Ryan Morris, Richard Gibbs and, of course, his dad, as his biggest influences.

“The Niagara comedy community is unlike any other in Canada,” says Tommy. “It’s a very nurturing environment. When Ronald got into comedy, all the other comics ...

it’s just been a friendly embrace. It’s so amazing. “I got into comedy to prove to my wife and family I wasn’t funny.

And it’s kind of backfired. I’m approaching 430 shows.” Tommy says if he can make you laugh and forget all your troubles, “then I’ve done my job.

To do it with my son, along with all the other great people in Niagara, is a dream come true.” Father and son next perform on Tuesday, July 21, at Taps, Apps & Laughs at Taps Brewhouse in downtown Niagara Falls (4680 Queen St.), starting at 8:30 p.m.